Curated by Monk
Welcome to the second edition of the Über Rock Singles Club of 2022. We have managed to keep the Club up-and-running despite the numerous Covidications which we all have had to endure over the past 24 months, in order to bring you the hottest new sounds around. And once again we have another hitlist of superb sonic experiences to tickle your sonic senses, with a selection of my favourite tunes to have found their way on to the ÜRHQ deathdecks over the past couple of weeks… Bearing in mind that, despite the new rock ‘n’ roll year still being slightly less than a month old, we received more than 400 submissions, it was not an easy task to whittle them down to this all-too-short playlist of just a handful musical gems…
Kicking off proceedings this week, we have one of the most flamboyant and distinctively-coiffured bands to have emerged from the febrile breeding ground of Finland – and one who are seeking to follow in the footsteps of another group of even more flamboyant and OTT countrymen in capitalizing on the Eurovision Song Contest’s sudden fascination with all things rock and metal-oriented:
As massive slab of NWoBHM-infused melodic AOR next as ÜK hard rock stalwarts Lionheart pay homage to the ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ with the second single to be lifted from their recently remastered, and thus about to be reissued 2017 album ‘Second Nature’ and is another prome exemplar of the band’s trademark combination of three-part vocal and twin-guitar: harmonies
We’re undertaking our first trans-global trip next, as we travel down under to Melbourne, where we find grunge revivalists Cicadastone positively ‘Incandescent’ with the power of inner belief on their powerful latest single to be lifted from last year’s excellent ‘Cold Chamber’, which really helped to show that this particular genre is still alive, vibrant and relevant in the 2020s…
It’s time to head to the beach… well, the Ocean Grove to be precise, as the Aussie power poppers serve us another slice of garage-infused grunginess which proves that there is indeed a ‘Silver Lining’ in every circumstance:
We’re keeping things retro, but in more of a fucked-up, psyched-out stoner groove as the wonderfully named Italian trio of Firpo Chompeavy share with us the story of ‘Cyrus And The Pink Ranger’, an appetizing opener taster for their forthcoming debut album, ‘Smoking 45’:
We’re heading to sunny California for our act of next storytelling, as Helsott regale us with the tale of how legendary gunslinger Billy The Kid became such a sharp shooter, with the title track of their forthcoming concept album, ‘Will And The Witch’, which sees them mixing western, Native American and southern rock miens with their more traditional death/thrash sound:
A touch of savagely outspoken alt-rock now, as Cheshire’s The Luka State meld visceral punk aggression, a gritty melodic rush and swaggering indie rock attitude on their latest single, which manages to capture the explosive intensity of their live shows with a brutally honest expression of grief, pain and isolation-invoked anger:
We’re nothing if not eclectic in our tastes here at the Singles Club, and that is also a description which can be assigned to Lincolnshire songwriter Jack Broadbent, who is taking us on something of a ‘Ride’ with the title track of his forthcoming new album, due for release in April:
We’re heading across the Irish Sea next, where we find the Emerald Isle is actually a Restive Nation, who have been blurring the lines between progressive metal and electronica to darkly hypnotic effect for a number of years, but present us with one of their heaviest tracks to date, as they recall the tragic fate of a group of hitcher hikers in the Ural Mountains back in 1959:
Another change in mood and destination, as we travel to Portugal where, despite their deceptively optimistically name, Perennial Dawn deliver gloom-encrusted doom metal of vintage proportions, with the third single to be released from their forthcoming debut album:
We’re hotfooting it north to meet up with another act who are preparing to unleash their first album on an unsuspecting Überverse, as Belgian deathrashers Schizophrenia take us ‘Inside The Walls Of Madness’:
We continue our journey northward, to the Scandinavian archipelago, where occult rockers Sleepwulf are getting both philosophical and psychedelic as they explore the theory of the ‘Stoned Ape’ on the latest sample from their forthcoming debut album, which lands next month:
We stay in Sweden but change musical tack, as former old-school sleaze rockers Reckless Love return from hiatus with something of a change of direction, as they embrace industrial and cyberpunk and synthwave with the title track of their new album, which is also being released next month:
As we head into the last half-dozen selections on this week’s playlist, it’s time for a quick time check… shit, it’s ‘2AM’, at least according to the vintage watches of emerging ÜS glunksters The Von Tramps, who channel the spirit of The Monkees and The Ramones into this brilliant slice of garage rock:
We’re heading back to Sweden now, where we find Club regulars Smash Into Pieces leaving behind their space opera world of Arcadia to embark on a new adventure, which they kick off with an introduction to the ‘Deadman’ with another wonderfully crafted of sci-fi tinged alt-rock:
Time to get heavy again, as we Light The Torch with one of two current projects from one-time Killswitch Engage frontman Howard Jones. LTT, of course, have been around for the better part of a decade, as they were once called Devil You Know but changed their name in 2017. Their latest foray into singles territory is the nominal title track of their current album:
We’re easing ourself into the final trio of tunes, with Chicago indie rockers Mudflower, who are suffering a severe dose of ‘Next Door Blues’ with their latest dynamic, slow-burning and layered offering:
Our penultimate choice is a band who have been on our radar for some time, but have never been featured in our pages, for whatever reason I can’t quite cogitate at the moment. I’m speaking of anotehr wonderfully named outfit, The Neptune Power Federation, who once again take us deep into the world of occult-infused psychedelia as they tell us the tale of ‘Emmaline’ in this declarative introduction to their new album, due in just three weeks’ time:
Our final selection comes to us courtesy of the latest discovery by our Valleys correspondent, David O’Neill who makes it his mission to track down the finest new talent from our former homeland of south Wales. His latest find is teenage NWoCR newcomers Zac And The New Men. With three previous releases under their belt and a reputation that is earning them some local traction in their hometown of Swansea, these 17-year-olds are really writing some good music. A variety of genre influences are cited in the press blurb, but a quick zip around Spotify and YouTube gives the listener a taste of what is to come: Southern Country Blues akin to Black Stone Cherry from the early days in the main, with a gritty driven baseline edge that reminded David of Royal Blood, the single is a good effort from a group of 17-year-olds. If you live in Swansea, they have a headline gig in the Bunkhouse this coming Saturday (5 February).
Well, that’s your fill for another session. Once again, you’ve drunk the pumps and the optics dry and exhausted our playlist… We’ll be back in two weeks’ time, fully reloaded and restocked and ready to once again bring you the best rawk ‘n’f’n roll in the Überverse. So, in the meantime all that remains for me to say is keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and keep on rockin’ with your favourite website \m/
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